Tools & software

Tools and software

A short, well-chosen toolkit covers almost everything you will do with a homebrewed GameCube. Below are the staples, grouped by what they do, named in plain text so you can find them yourself.

On the console

• Swiss: the central loader, file browser, disc dumper, and patching engine.
• GameCube Memory Manager (GCMM): backs up and restores memory card saves to SD.
• RetroArch: multi-system emulation front end.
• Game Boy Interface: the improved Game Boy Player launcher.
• Controller and hardware test apps: for diagnosing inputs and video.

Entry points

• PicoBoot: firmware for a microcontroller modchip that auto-launches Swiss.
• Save exploits: vulnerable retail saves used to bootstrap a loader on stock hardware.

On a PC

• GCMemcardManager: organise and convert saves across cards.
• Image conversion tools: create and convert ISO, NKit, and RVZ files.
• Dolphin: the desktop emulator, handy for testing dumps and converting images.

Hardware add-ons

• SD2SP2 or SD Gecko: SD storage adapters.
• Broadband Adapter: Ethernet for LAN play and network boot.
• GCVideo-based HDMI adapters: clean digital video output.